Federal workers miss paycheck as partial shutdown hits 21 days

By: Jamie Dupree Updated: January 11, 2019 - 2:00 AM

With no agreement between Congress and the President in the ongoing dispute over funding for a border wall, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will not receive their scheduled paychecks on Friday, even though over 400,000 have had to continue working for the government, as the partial government shutdown reached 21 days.

“Let’s stop this shutdown now,” NASA engineer Steve Ching said to cheers at a rally near the White House, as federal workers rallied in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.

“We’re all wondering, how long will our families able to hold out,” Ching said, as workers from a variety of shuttered federal agencies chanted, “Back to work!” and aimed their displeasure at President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Hundreds of federal workers, contractors and supporters spilling into the street in front of the AFL-CIO building, just down the road from the White House. They’re chanting, “we want our pay!” #ShutdownProtest#DCpic.twitter.com/7v4Qt1NPey

While lawmakers in both parties agreed that Congress would – as has happened in previous shutdowns – approve back pay for federal workers, it still wasn’t clear how long the funding impasse would stretch.

“If we’re out for a long period, I wouldn’t be surprised to start seeing feds leaving government,” one worker told me.